The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1887-08-12
DENVER'S RICH MEN.
GOSSIP ABOUT A SCORE OF col o.
RADIO MlLLloNAIREs.

"A Look at Mrs. Tabor No. 1-Senator
Tabor's Wealth and His Opera House.
His Unlucky Residence and Its History.
Judge Belford's Future.
Especial Correspondence
DENVER, Aug. l.
A TALL fine looking, well dressed woman
was sitting near the fare box in a Broadway
street car as | entered it, She had high
forehead, dark brown hair, black eyes and
remarkably intelligent features A friend
sat beside her, and to him she talked pleas
antly. Her tones were low and her English
was OF the purest She was apparently about
40 years of age, and my attention was first
attracte to her by the fact that she had over
paid her fare, putting in dime for a nickel.
made this even by giving her my fare III
stead of putting it in the box As she left the
car learned she was woman with history,
and that she was none other than ex- Senator
Tabor's first wife-the woman who made his
big strike for him by taking boarders AMI
, keeping the store which supplied the feed for
the prospectors who struck the Little Pitts
burg mine. This was the woman from whom
Tabor got his divorce, and it was this woman
he left to marry the present Mrs Tabor,
whom he first welded at st. Louis; after
wards another marriage ceremony was
solemnized at Washington, She does not look
like disappointed woman, and she is by no
means one OF the frail reeds of the fair sex |
don't think she would have disgraced her
husband at Washington. and find that here
at Denver her standing is very good She is
IN good circumstances. the property which
Tabor gave her having largely increased in
value. She is worth at least $500, 900 today,
and she lately sold sixteen lots out Of piece
OF forty which Tabor gave her for SEQ, 900
She has left twenty-four lots and q house
upon them that cost S45, 900, and she still
owns the La Feta property This last con-
ssts OF fourteen thrss-story houses, built in
the best manner, and forming good renting
property, worth about $500. .O00
-.
In the meantime it is hard to tell whether
Tabor himself ia doing we'll or i'll. He has
still enough and TO spare, however, and he
has been valuable citizen to Denver. AM
told he Is anxious to so back TO the senate,
and that when the next election comes he
will be there to see. He is good business
man, it In said, and two of the best business
blocks i'll Dsnvsy were built by him. One of
tiNss is the famed opera house, which cost
e165,OOO, and the other is the Tabor block,
The opera house is a big five story building
OF stone and brick, with tower on the COR
ner. Its front is filled with stores and Offices,
and Tabor makes good percentage ON the
investment. The Tabor block is five and one
half stories, and Tabor was the first man to
see that five story building would pay in
Denver. This block cost him $3.50, 900, and it
rents for $28, ,0J0 per annum am told that
the stone of which it is made came from the
cast and was taken from quarry in which
Tabor worked when he was poor. His opera
house proper paid $4,000 in one year, for
Denver is one of the best theatre towns of the
west.
Ex-senator Tabor has fine house in Dem
ver. 1t is worth at least $75, 900. It has
beautiful grounds about it, and it has been
successively the homes of two miners who
struck 1t rich. made fortunes and lost them.
Nuw Tabor, who for some time held a mort
re on . prorc.tv, has >, - : it in.
:vr il it viii he as unrcky q residence
for lin r. IL ha< been for il. predecessors
The ti:uary Ill It's yard Tabor bought with
the house. The statues are the same, am
told. which leading New York newspaper
once said were originally fine Dronzes from
Paris. but which the rich miner whitewashed
to make them look like marble He would have
no copper colored Indians in his yard, and il
Mercury and Venus were to stand there in all
their naked beauty they should at least wear
the skin Of the Caucasian.
This house of Tabor7s was built by q man
named Bailey, who struck it rich at Dead
wood and made Sl00000 there Like all
miners, he came at once to Denver and built
this house. He kept up his prospecting, how
,,nIn Sy.r-
Gilt He then, il report is correct, tackled
Wall street, and lost nearly all he had. His
house was sold, and another miner who had
just made a strike bought it for $4,000.
TIE buyers name was Watson, and he made
his strike. in connection with Governor Routt
and NJ. Corning, in the Morning and
Evening Star mines The circumstances of
their strike are worth telling The three
men had been working long time. They
had used up ali they had, and were $50, ,OO) in
delft. They could get no more money, and
they begged their men to work for them
thirty days more on credit. The men con-
sentcd, and during this thirty days the lead
was struck, and Grant & Ward sold out their
mine for them for 81 ZOO, 600 cash. The three
snen came to Denver and at once bought
houses. At this time Watson was worth be-
tween $500, 600 and $400, 600. They kept on
mining, and had what they considered very
valuable property near Breckenridge But
the water got into the mine, and it began to
eat up money SO rapidly that Governor Routt
objected. Watson then said: "All right; if
you don't like it Corning and will buy you
out!" Routt accepted the proposition and he
is rich man today After while Corning
got tired and Watson bought him out, anA
tried to run the whole thing himself II i,
supposed he sunk all he had, and it was into
this mine that the proceeds of Tabor's S35 900
r,ar>sage went Tabor gave him another
house and took this i'll settlement. Watson
has not yet been able to make his mine work
ahI., and he is poor man today.
R,ntt. by the way, cannn out here poor,
as Grants territorial governor. He was
elected the first governor of til. state, but
never had n fortune to speak of until he made
it i'm this mine. He is ROW one of the princi-
pals of the Cattle Trust company, a syndicate
of cattlenen who, with capital Of $25, ,OO0,-
600, largely control the cattle interests Of this
country.
Denver has lots of rich men, and the most
OF them are self made. d. H. Moffatt, the
president of the Denver AMI Rio Grande rail-
road, is worth from 81 ,000, 900 to $S, 600, 900,
and during his first years here he was book
seller. He made a fortune in mining and
speculation, and he and Senator Chaffee
bought the Little Pittsburg mine Of Tabor.
Moffatt is not over so now, and he is also
of the First National bank OF Den
yer.
The two Clayton brothers, who are both
came to Denver in 1850 with
81, 900 and started a jobbing house. They
bought real estate, invested in the Denver
Pacific and the Denver and South Park rail-
roads, and in this, with other speculations,
have made their fortunes.
A*a
Senator Hill was professor before he came
10 Denver. Here he saw that fortune was
10 be made by any one who could improve
upon the present methods of reducing and re-
fining gold and silver. He went to Swansea,
Wales. which is one of the great smelling
,enters OF the world, and there studied the
processes used He came back and estab-
ished smelling works at Black Hawk. He
made money, and the works were moved to
Denver. BY secret process they are now
.ble 10 do some of the best refining OF the
world, and Hill has made fortune. The in
yentor of the secret process is the only
me who understands it. His name IS
Pierce. am told that HIS company pay
i'm salary Of $4,000 year for its use.
md that the part Of the works in which this
ecret is used is never shown to visitors. Pro-
u - l. <p.sy kt,n n L